Officers from across Allegheny County get new training to respond to opioid crisis

Police officers from across Allegheny County are going back to school as part of their response to the opioid crisis.

"Our goal, in reaching out to everyone, is to reach a point where we are conducting consistent and thorough investigations in all of these cases," said Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Rachel Newman.

The instruction for officers is part of a new effort by the district attorney to make sure officers know the proper procedures when they respond to deadly drug overdoses.

"It's important that you take possession of any drug evidence and cellphones that we transported to the hospital with the overdose victim," said Newman.

The goal is to give police and prosecutors more ammunition to use to go after drug dealers. Those dealers can now be charged in fatal overdoses with "drug delivery resulting in death.”

Since the crime was amended in 2011 to close a loophole, 115 people have been charged with the crime, resulting in 18 convictions.

In 2016, more than 500 people died from drug overdoses in Allegheny County. That number is up from 2015, when 424 people died. The medical examiner is now working with police and prosecutors to identify the strongest cases for prosecution.

"We are trying to set up a procedure so we don't waste any time deciding whether a case is good or not. We can apply our resources to helping, as a group, find out what the best cases are," said Dr. Karl Williams, the Allegheny County medical examiner.

For families who have lost children to drug overdoses, it offers hope that future families will get closure.

"It should have happened a long time ago. We can't fight this with just awareness. We've got to get out there and get action. The police need to learn better tactics, how to stop these drug dealers. They are coming in waves. It's like a tsunami," said Carmen Capozzi.

Capozzi's son, Sage, died of a heroin overdose in Westmoreland County in 2012. The man accused of supplying the drugs to her son went to trial, but was acquitted. Capozzi started a group called "Sage's Army" to help people and families with addiction.

Cox Media Group